Universal Studios Hollywood debuts a series of virtual tour videos showcasing the Spring 2016 opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, beginning with today’s insider’s look at the land hosted by the Hogwarts Express conductor.

More than five years in the making, and inspired by J.K. Rowling’s compelling stories and characters that were brought to life in the Warner Bros. films, “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” will be masterfully recreated with impeccable detail as a real world interpretation at Universal Studios Hollywood. “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” will be faithful to the visual landscape of the fiction and films, including Hogwarts castle which will serve as its iconic focal point.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (Aug. 15, 2015) – Today at the D23 EXPO 2015, The Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger announced to an audience of more than 7,500 fans that Star Wars-themed lands will be coming to Disneyland park in Anaheim, Calif., and Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., allowing Star Wars fans to step into the stories from a galaxy far, far away.

Ambitious plans to bring Star Wars to life in the two parks include creating Disney’s largest single themed land expansions ever at 14 acres each, transporting guests to a never-before-seen planet, a remote trading port and one of the last stops before wild space where Star Wars characters and their stories come to life.

“I am thrilled to announce the next chapter in the long and exciting history between Disney Parks and Star Wars,” said Iger. “We are creating a jaw-dropping new world that represents our largest single themed land expansion ever. These new lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will transport guests to a whole new Star Wars planet, including an epic Star Wars adventure that puts you in the middle of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance.”

These authentic lands will have two signature attractions. Along with the thrilling battle experience, another attraction puts guests behind the controls of one of the most recognizable ships in the galaxy, the Millennium Falcon, as they take on a customized secret mission.

Iger also shared concept images of the Star Wars-themed lands, giving fans a glimpse at what is to come for Disney parks.

The partnership between Disney and Lucasfilm dates back to 1987, when the successful Star Tours attraction, inspired by George Lucas’s legendary Star Wars film series, opened at Disneyland. The attraction was then redesigned, emerging as “Star Tours – The Adventures Continue” in 2011 and featuring more than 50 different story outcomes and the possibility to visit five different planets.

For 60 years, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has been delighting millions of people with fantastic storytelling, exceptional entertainment and extraordinary experiences, creating places where guests can make life-long memories with their friends and families. This announcement marks an unprecedented time of growth with exciting developments happening around the world – from Disneyland Resort’s Diamond Celebration to the anticipated opening of Shanghai Disney Resort in China.

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About Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts are where dreams come true. Sixty years ago, Walt Disney created a new kind of entertainment families could experience together, immersed in detailed atmospheres and vibrant storytelling. His vision now includes a collection of five of the world’s leading family vacation destinations – Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, Calif.; Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; Tokyo Disney Resort, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan; Disneyland Paris, Marne-la-Vallée, France; and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, located on Lantau Island. A sixth resort, Shanghai Disney Resort, is currently under construction in Pudong New District, Shanghai. In addition, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts includes the world-class Disney Cruise Line; Disney Vacation Club; Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa; Adventures by Disney, a guided group vacation experience to some of the world’s most popular destinations; and Walt Disney Imagineering, which creates and designs all Disney parks, resorts and attractions.

Halloween, hailed as one of the greatest horror films of all time and starring Jamie Lee Curtis in her acting debut, will come to life in the demented new experience: “Halloween: Michael Myers Comes Home.” The haunted maze will take guests through the tormented town of Haddonfield, Illinois, where on one fateful Halloween night in 1963, a six-year-old child by the name of Michael Myers inexplicably and brutally stabbed his sister to death with a kitchen knife. Guests will relive the terror that a maniacal Michael Myers inflicted upon the once quiet town after his escape from a psychiatric hospital to take bloody revenge on new and unsuspecting victims.

Guests will have the sensation of stepping through the silver screen directly into unsettling and shocking film scenes as they navigate their way through Haddonfield, adorned in classic Halloween décor on a similar Halloween night in 1963. Meyer’s abandoned family home and its blood-splattered walls, where the violent murder took place, will set the stage for a new crime scene as guests attempt to evade the relentless killer–armed with his signature bloodstained knife.

“Halloween is the ultimate classic slasher film that spawned an entire horror film genre,” said John Murdy, Creative Director at Universal Studios Hollywood and Executive Producer of “Halloween Horror Nights.” “Bringing John Carpenter’s disturbing, cutting-edge vision to life as part of ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ is the ideal complement to our maze lineup as we continue to break creative ground with outstanding horror icons that raise the intensity level of our experience.”

“We are extremely excited to team up with Universal Studios Hollywood’s fantastic event, ‘Halloween Horror Nights,” said Malek Akkad, President of Trancas International Films and Compass International Pictures. “The attention to detail that the creative team gives to the Halloween maze creates a realistic and terrifying experience for guests that is truly authentic to the film. This year’s maze will be the best yet.”

The popular event brings together the sickest minds in horror to immerse guests in a living, breathing, three-dimensional world of terror. Featuring an all-new slate of unrivaled film production quality mazes, frightful scare zones and a fully re-imagined “Terror Tram” experience uniquely themed to today’s most definitive horror properties, “Halloween Horror Nights” will taunt, terrorize and torment guests with spine-chilling haunted attractions during Southern California’s most extreme Halloween experience.

Recent maze announcements include, “Guillermo del Toro Presents Crimson Peak: Maze of Madness,” based on Legendary and Universal Pictures’ much-anticipated Crimson Peak film directed, co-written and produced by celebrated filmmaker Guillermo del Toro; “The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far,” based on season 5 of the critically-acclaimed, Emmy Award®-winning television series, and “Insidious: Return to the Further,” based on the bone-chilling Insidious film trilogy. This year’s event will also feature the global phenomenon and multi-talented dance crew, Jabbawockeez, direct from Las Vegas in an all-new original show, performing multiple times per night throughout the run of “Halloween Horror Nights.”

Join the “Halloween Horror Nights” conversation using #UniversalHHN on Facebook at Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood, Instagram @HorrorNights, Twitter and Periscope @HorrorNights. Add us on Snapchat, username HorrorNights for nightly live content and watch the terror come to life on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube.

About Trancas International Films/Compass International Pictures:
Trancas International Films is a motion picture production and distribution company based primarily in Los Angeles, California, but operating worldwide. In addition to numerous other films in its library, Trancas, along with its subsidiary, Compass International Pictures, has been involved with each film in the iconic Halloween franchise, and production deals with companies including The Weinstein Company, Anchor Bay Entertainment, and Dimension Films. Halloween Returns, the next installment of this iconic franchise is currently slated to head in to production for release next year.

Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort is chilling, family friendly fun. From Friday, Sept. 12, through Friday, Oct. 31, guests will explore their spooky Disney Side with special Halloween transformations of Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. Disney villains conjured by a magic cauldron; dance to the Mad T Party band and meet Mickey Mouse and his friends in Halloween costumes. [Read more…]